


However this ends, we end it together.

by Sylvesterelle



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo Deserved Better, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, No Character Death, Redeemed Ben Solo, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, i'm suffering, the way we all know these scene SHOULD have gone okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21880723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvesterelle/pseuds/Sylvesterelle
Summary: He’d endured pain in his life. More than his fair share.But there was no pain like this.It was her pain. Her suffering, like a phantom limb, tearing through him with all the force in the world.What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? What happens when all the power of the dark side tries to break a pair that was never meant to be apart, a soul that was never made to be two?Or: the ending we all deserved but didn't get, complete with  the death of only one (1) bad guy.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 46
Kudos: 348





	1. Chapter 1

He’d endured pain in his life. More than his fair share.

But there was no pain like this.

When Palpatine tore the life force from their bond, it wasn’t just his pain he was feeling; a sensation all too familiar, one he’d trained himself to block out. It was also _her_ pain. Her suffering, like a phantom limb, tearing through him with all the force in the world.

He could feel it searing through her joints, feel her teeth crack as her jaw clenched too tight. He felt every atom of her scream out in pain, and his, too.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? What happens when all the power of the dark side tries to break a pair that was never meant to be apart, a soul that was never made to be two?

He could feel the edges of his vision white out, but Ben Solo fought to hold on. He’d just found himself again, found _her_ again. He didn’t want to let go. Not like this, not ever.

But how could he fight this? This was _elemental._

But so were they.

Before Ben could finish the thought, Palpatine released his hold on the pair and let them fall to the ground, puppets cut from their strings.

But there was still one tie left.

Ben could feel her, fainter than she’d ever been since that first day in the forest. His body was screaming at him, broken and bloodied on the stone ground. Movement seemed like a far off dream, and he could only catch a glimpse of her arm wraps, stained dark, and the curve of hand where it’d landed so close—but not close enough.

But behind it all, behind the pain, behind the fear, he could still feel her. A dual pulse in his blood, a gravity he’d long since stopped fighting.

Over the remnants of the bond, he heard her voice.

 _Ben_.

He felt a spark in his chest, fighting against the pain.

_Rey._

Warmth bloomed across the bond, tinted as it was with pain and the near-separation that would have undone them both.

Gritting his teeth, Ben pulled on every last reserve of strength he had. Every bit of anger, every bit of pain, yes, but also the love. For his parents, for Rey, for the hope she’d given him when he thought all was lost.

He drew on it all, dug deeper into his very bones, and felt his fingers twitch.

An inch, maybe two. That’s all he needed.

If he died, he would die with his hand in hers. And if somehow he survived this, it would be with her, too.

He felt the dirt brush against the back of his hand, gravel digging into open wounds. Closer.

Out the corner of his eye he saw Palpatine, a flash of lightening ripping into the sky.

It could wait. It would have to wait.

His fight was over. Only she remained. And he’d come too far to fail now.

Wish a last push, his fingers brushed against hers, and it was like a thousand suns dying at once.

Where there had once been visions, now he saw only light. It was like looking into the Force itself, the whole of it, all at once.

Her fingers tightened around his, and he heard her voice once more.

 _Be with me_.

_I’m here._

He could feel her pulse of amusement, however improbable.

 _No, Ben_. _Not you._

She squeezed his hand weakly, just once.

And he understood.

With the last of his strength, Ben dropped his defenses, built from youth. Let all the noise of the world rush in, let the Force pour through him, instead of trying to rip his way through as he had so often before.

It hurt, nearly as much as the bond. But it was a good hurt, a fire he welcomed—it cleansed as it burned. And there was Rey, guiding him through it as she once promised she would. Prompting him, gently.

 _Be with me,_ he whispered.

Her voice joined in.

_Be with me._

Their fingers gripped with renewed strength.

_Be with us._

Where there were two voices, more appeared. Dozens, then hundreds.

 _Be with us_.

Some she recognized, he could tell through the bond. The stormtrooper, he thought. Finn. And the pilot.

The chorus grew.

_Be with us._

And these voices he knew.

His mother, her voice. He’d never thought he’d hear it again. He felt the spark within his chest grow as she lent him her strength.

There was Luke, too. And Obi-Wan, and Yoda--who he’d never met, but heard enough stories that they felt as familiar to him as the others.

They were all there, his family, past and present.

And one more.

_Ben._

The voice called out to him alone.

_You know what you must do._

Ben choked back a sob, the motion sending pain through his cracked ribs.

All the years he’d spent praying to hear that voice. Screaming out for help, for guidance. For a voice in the dark to tell him he was on the right path.

_You can end this story, Ben._

_You know what you must do._

He nodded, a tear falling down his cheek.

He’d known the second he laid eyes on her. Whatever their fate, it would be tied together. Whatever the future of the force, they would be its herald.

_Yes, Grandfather._

From out of the dark came one last voice—more familiar than the rest.

_Go get ‘em, kid._

At once, he felt the voices combine into a single note, ringing louder than any sound in the galaxy. As it built to a frenzied crescendo he fought the urge to cover his ears, knowing it would do no good.

It was a _living_ sound, and it burned brightly in the space between their interlocked fingers, growing until it encompassed their hands. All at once it burst, and he felt it flood through his body, the energy, the light. Felt Rey experience the same.

They knew what they had to do.

As one, they rose from the ground, hands still clasped.

Their rose their opposite hands, calling their weapons to them.

Together, they lit their sabers, the combined glow forcing back the shadows of Palpatine’s lightning.

Lightning he turned on them with a snarl, crackling through the cavern and leaving the scent of ozone in its wake.

Their blades hummed as they crossed in front of them, throwing off sparks in every direction. The vibration of the impact sent shudders down the wrist holding the blade, threatening to give out.

But he held on.

He felt more than heard Rey scream next to him—not in pain, but the battle cry he had memorized from that night in the woods.

He leaned forward, pushing all his weight against the lightening that threatened to overwhelm them.

Together, they took a step forward.

Turning the lightening back towards the Emperor, forcing him to endure the power he created.

They took another step.

And another.

Ben could feel the tide of power turning, overwhelming its master.

He heard his soul’s voice in his mind, her strength kindling through him.

_It’s time, Ben. Let’s end this._

With one final surge, they pushed back as one, against the man who had killed their families, threatened their friends, who would have them trapped in darkness, who would tear them apart as if they weren’t born to be together.

The light fractured as their sabers gave one last pulse, burning with power enough to collapse a planet, or end an Emperor. The cavern split above them, stones raining from the ceiling as the man who was once Palpatine exploded in the burst of light, his very being unmade by their power.

A life-force, he had called it.

To give, and to take away.

As darkness settled in the cavern, Ben and Rey Solo sunk to their knees. The lightsabers clattered to the floor, kyber crystals irrevocably damaged.

In the light of the burning star destroyers above, Ben could see nothing but her face. His love. His heart.

Her eyes were wide, mouth parted as she gasped for air. He could see the blood trailing from her eyebrow and couldn’t help but reach out to wipe it away, cradling her face in one broad palm.

 _“_ Ben,” she whispered, both in his ear and in his mind.

She wrapped her hand around his wrist, turning into his palm. She mirrored his gesture, endlessly gentle as she cupped her hand around his cheek, thumbing a stray tear he hadn’t realized was falling.

Her pulled her near, pressing their foreheads together as he closed his eyes, overwhelmed with feeling.

“I know. I know, Ben," she said, gripping tighter. "I feel it too.”

He opened his eyes to see her staring up at him, and he didn’t have a name for what he saw there. Like he was hope. Like he was possibility. Like he was the answer to all the questions of family she’d ever dreamed to ask.

Like she wasn’t all that to him, too, and more.

His eyes flicked down to her lips, running a thumb across the cut that marred them. Characteristically impatient, Rey pushed forward, closing the gap between them that was never meant to exist.

And Ben didn’t see visions. He didn’t see Force.

He just saw her, burning with the brightness that had kept her alive all these years, that had led him to her, that he knew he would follow the rest of his days.

His twin flame, the savior of his soul.

Rey. 

_I love you,_ he couldn't help but think at her.

She pulled away with an easy grin, and so much affection as to knock the breath from his lungs. 

"I know." 


	2. The Artists Formerly Known As...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Palpatine is over, but (found) family reunions are another story entirely.

“Rey, you have got to be joking me. He’s _killed_ people.” Finn said, gesturing wildly in the direction of Ben, sitting nearby and curling in on himself as he caught the former stormtrooper’s tone.

Rey sighed, already exhausted with the argument. They’d only returned a few hours previous, and she’d already had it more times than she’d quite like.

“So have I! So have _you._ His story is more than you know, Finn. Surely we know that better than anyone.”

Finn shook his head, jaw clenched in a look Rey recognized. It wasn’t promising.

“You trust Rey, right?” A gentle voice asked, Rose coming up beside them.

“Of course,” Finn said, throwing his hands up. “That’s not the problem!”

“And you trust the Force?”

“You know I do.”

“Then stop burying yourself in the past. So much has changed.” Rose laid a hand on his shoulder. “Close your eyes and _feel_.”

Finn grumbled, but complied.

“I _feel_ like he’s going to murder us all in his sleep.”

Rey winced and shot Ben a sympathetic smile. It’d not been the worse thing he’d heard in the past few hours, but she could sense a flare of hurt all the same.

 _It’s alright_ , came his voice in her head, deep and endlessly soothing. _I didn’t expect this would be easy._

Rey turned her attention back to Finn, where Rose was gently prodding him.

“Open your mind Finn, do you feel any danger? Any ill intent?”

“No,” he muttered, clearly unhappy about the answer.

“What do you feel?”

“Guilt. Pain. Grief.”

“Well, we’ve all had enough of late lately.”

“Do you feel the bond, Finn? Between Ben and I?” Rey asked, curious to know what it looked like to someone who didn’t want to _use_ it. To corrupt it.

“I don’t know, I…” he trailed off. “I think so? I haven’t felt anything like it before.”

“Can you describe it?” Rose asked, shooting a small smile at Rey. Of everyone, she’d been one of the most understanding. She knew a bond when she saw one—after all, she’d once been half a pair, and would feel her sister’s absence the rest of her life.

It hurt knowing that Ben—or rather, Kylo Ren—had played a role in her death, of course it did. But she had mourned enough. She didn’t want revenge. The time for that was over—she had told Finn once that the way they’d win the war was through love. And what greater proof was there than this?

Finn frowned a bit, eyes still closed. “It’s not really…I can feel the shape of it. It feels like Rey, her force signature, but _more._ Bigger. More alive.”

He opened his eyes, locking on to Rey.

“It feels…hopeful.”

He chewed on his cheek a moment, thinking. Glanced between Rey and Ben, not missing a detail. The way they instinctively turned towards each other, mirrored in the tilt of a head, the curve of the hand.

The way the man he once knew as Kylo Ren bit down on his lip, worrying it, though it reopened one of the many cuts he sported. Like it mattered to him what happened next, what Finn would say.

He saw how his eyes only darted away from Rey, like she could disappear in a moment.

He looked…fragile. It’s not a word Finn would have used before. But then again, Ren doesn’t look like he did before. The layers of leather armor and black, all broad shoulders and hidden face.

This man, in his torn sweater and soft leggings, dirt on his face and hair tangled, looked tired. Like he’d fought through hell to get here, lost between the relief of leaving and the grief of what it had cost.

Against his better judgement, Finn felt a spark of pity. He knew that feeling.

He looked again at Rey.

She looked happier than he’d seen her in months. She’d been so _angry_ recently. So frustrated in her training, in the war that’d never end, in the manipulations she’d endured along the way.

But this Rey looked more like the girl he met on Jakku. The rage was gone from her eyes, and her smile was full and easy. Her muscles were relaxed and she leaned on her staff, even as she was still covered in blood and dried sweat from the fight.

She looked like the scrappy scavenger who had help save his life, not the powerful Force weapon he once feared she’d disappear into.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew in his gut who was responsible for that.

He turned to the other man, his long legs crunched up on a stool.

He could feel Rey and Rose’s apprehension as he walked over, melting as he extended a hand.

“Ben.” Finn said, studying his eyes. “I’m Finn. Formerly FN-2187.”

The man looked up at him for a moment, an uncertain hope playing across his face. He’s easy to read, Finn thought with surprise.

A warm hand engulfed his own, and Ben Solo smiled hesitantly at him.

“I’m glad to meet you, Finn.”

Rey threw her arms around Finn’s back, squeezing him.

“ _Thank you,”_ she whispered gratefully in his ear.

He turned around to see her grinning at him, a certain look in her eye he knew too well.

“Oh no. No. Absolutely not. Whatever you’re thinking, no.”

“I love you, Finn,” she wheedled.

“What do you want.”

Her smile grew, scrunching into a monkey grin.

“Want to help me with Poe?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I've given in. More coming because I cannot stop myself. Keep sending me your headcanons/conspiracy theories/vague daydreams. I LOVE THEM.

**Author's Note:**

> I saw TROS this morning and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. The good (redemption! hot sweater!), the bad (nearly everything else!), and how clearly I could see the ending as it SHOULD have been, how I think many of us saw it. So I had to write it.
> 
> Possible epilogue, if I can't get this out of my head. Tell me your headcanons, I need them like air.


End file.
